The sound of meat being cooked in the hot oil was pleasant. A single fan was not big enough to suck up the thick smoke from the frying pan. Feeling the smell on the tip of his nose, Min-joon smiled pleasantly and said, “It smells good.”
Lucas and Jessie were sitting in front of him.
Jane, who was in the kitchen at the moment, smiled and opened her mouth.
“Well, to be honest, I’m embarrassed to cook in front of you, the best chef in America.”
“Don’t say that. As I said, your dish was the first one I ate when I got here in America. So whenever I talk about American cuisine, I always think of the hamburger and Mac Cheese I ate back then.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Having said that, Jane brought some salad. It was a salad made by mixing mashed avocado with vinegar, seasoned with a sauce made from candied sugar in white wine. The salad filled with cucumbers, lettuce, and paprika looked pretty.
‘She is still very good at cooking.’
Her cooking score was 6 points. He wondered if it was right for him to come here as a guest and check her cooking score, but he couldn’t help but do it before he knew it. He slightly glanced at the kitchen. She looked much busier than she was the last time he came, and not without a reason because she was making a lot of other dishes, including Mac Cheese or hamburgers as if she seemed to have been stimulated a lot today.
Of course, her course wasn’t that grandiose because it consisted of lasagna, mashed potatoes, and dessert. The Mac Cheese that she cooked first was placed in front of the table.
Looking at Kaya, Min-joon said, “Jane’s really good at cooking!”
She responded with a grin, “I know. We’ve been to this place a lot.”
Then she took a bite of Mac Cheese. It wasn’t exactly the same thing Jane made before. After all, it really mattered who made it. Min-joon also took a bite of Mac Cheese. The cheese on the outside was slightly crispy, but the taste was completely different because he crushed only its tip. He lifted the fork and rolled the sticky cheese with a knife. He then put it in his mouth.
He said with a smile, “It’s delicious, Jane.”
Jane just smiled instead of responding. He once again put the Mac Cheese in his mouth. Stuffed with bacon and turkey chicken breast, the Mac Cheese was not seasoned with just cheddar or mozzarella. He could feel the smell of Swiss cheese moderately as well as the rich spices such as cinnamon and dried clove powder in it.
Like all American food, this was a dish that little kids would really love. He might want to describe its taste as so delicious as to make anybody keep eating it to gain weight before they know it.
Kaya nodded and opened her mouth.
“I think this is good enough to sell. I can’t think of it as homemade.”
“Well, I’ve paid special attention to it this time because you guys are coming.”
“Oh, don’t say that! We’re embarrassed!” said Min-joon with a smile.
But Jane was serious because he was truly a benefactor of the Lucas family.
It wasn’t because he brought Lucas living on the streets back home or because he helped Jesse pull up his heart. Since he participated in the Grand Chef competition, Min-joon had often told people about Lucas’ frustration. Of course, the Lucas story was edited from various angles because of the broadcasting situation, but everyone realized that the factory, which was run honestly by a man named Lucas, had no choice but to close because of the ridiculous program.
That alone could help Lucas stand back on his own feet to some extent because people cleared up their misunderstanding of him. But Min-joon didn’t stop there. After he came to America, Min-joon introduced Lucas to various key figures in the catering industry through June. Of course, since Lucas once established himself as a good chef, he had some network in the cooking field, but June’s introduction of him to major figures in the field was a totally different story.
At some point, Lucas felt his vague plan came to be materialized smoothly, and he finally succeeded in coming back. The place where Lucas invited Min-joon and Kaya was not the place where they first met him. It was a much nicer and more luxurious mansion than it was back then. The ceiling was higher than the second floor, and each piece of furniture in the restaurant was luxurious.
‘One never knows what will happen to one’s life.’
This was especially true of those who once led a successful life. They knew very well how to succeed in the world. Even if they failed, they somehow managed to come back when they were given a chance to do so.
While he was lost in such thoughts, Jane kept bringing the dishes one after another, including hamburger steak with mashed potatoes to lasagna.
The first one he tried was the hamburger steak. When he put the knife on the hamburger soaked in dark blue red wine sauce, its blade went in as easily as if it were just ham. Given that part of the hamburger was pressed down by the blade before coming back quickly, it was clear that even its kneading was done perfectly. Simply by looking at that, he could feel how it would taste. The flavor of the meat concentrated inside the hamburger was so deep, plus its chewy texture.
Wondering what it was, he found out the answer right away.
“Did you put some meat sinew in it?”
“Yes. I bought it at a Japanese market nearby. It’s always delicious to eat with it.”
“Wow! You are almost a professional chef!”
Min-joon shook his head as if he was pleasantly surprised. He thought Jane cooked well, but while trying her dish, he thought she was good enough to participate in the Grand Chef competition.
Meat sinew. The sinew part of the hamburger commonly called suji in Japan had a texture similar to the ox knee they enjoyed in Korea. Its taste, which was chewier than rice cakes, helped him to enjoy the hamburger as if he was eating Korean grilled short rib patties.
Min-joon and Kaya came here to spend more time talking with the Lucas family, but they had no choice but to eat their cuisine when they were served with delicious dishes like this.
Min-joon scooped out the lasagna from the oven container and placed it on top of the bowl.
And he looked at its ingredients slowly.
“It’s lasagna, but you didn’t use lasagna pasta very much. You used a lot of vegetables instead.”
“Because I’ve prepared Mac Cheese. Besides, I’ve made mashed potatoes. So I don’t think it’s good to have too many carbs.”
“It’s a good decision.”
Min-joon nodded. He then cut the lasagna. Eggplants, pumpkins, and apples were layered in it. A pink rose sauce made from a mixture of tomato and cream sauce was soaked in the ingredients, and the green sauce seemed to be pesto. And this kind of combination was good.
When he smiled to himself at the freshness of the chive pesto spreading in his mouth when he ate the lasagna, Jessie, who was looking at him, opened her mouth.
“How long will you stay in New York?”
She once asked him about it, which meant she was probably very much interested in his next move after working at June’s restaurant in New York. He pointed to his mouth instead of answering because he was chewing the food.
So Kaya replied instead, “I think maybe one more year would be enough.”
“Oh, is he leaving so early?’
“Well, he might leave earlier than that because he’s in an awkward situation,” she said in a sullen voice, looking at him.
June became the new head of Rose Island. Although she was supposed to run Rose Island as its new chief only for four years, she was in charge of Rose Island anyway.
Because of that, as sous chef of June’s New York restaurant, he became much busier than before. So much so that he had to take care of the whole kitchen staff and work as if he was the head chef. Actually, he was serving as the head chef. Even though June was in charge of directing the kitchen such as developing new recipes and menus, it was Min-joon who led the kitchen staff to make dishes for the customers day by day.
Of course, it wasn’t bad for him. When Rachel led the kitchen, she often left the kitchen work to her sous-chef Raphael, although she didn’t focus too much on her role as the head chef.
It was clear that June did her best, given the way she took care of the kitchen work like now.
However, there was one reason for Min-joon to leave her restaurant.
“Well, I could manage the job of a head chef, even though I thought I couldn’t make it.”
After swallowing a piece of lasagna, he spoke in a strange voice. Obviously, he had mixed feelings when he said that as if he felt sorry or happy for leaving her restaurant.
Actually, he found a reason to leave June’s restaurant, which was simple. He could now leave New York. Since he could do so, he had to leave New York. In short, he didn’t have to be protected by June.
‘Maybe I can learn a little more…’